Why act like a deer in headlights? Patience, Kemo Sabe.

[top dawg]

Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will a championship caliber team be built in a day (or a season).

If you think about it, this has been the first offseason that Ron Rivera has had with his feet on the ground. Last year he was still trying to organize with the rest of a young staff. Much like Jimmy Clausen, Rivera came into a fuged up situation. The team had been basically gutted of experienced veteran leadership on the defensive side of the ball, and was mired in offensive quicksand with Pickles and injuries to our most experienced and potent offensive weapons. But, the thing is is that offense was our strength, and the quickest way back to respectability, so we had to fill the gaping hole at QB. Newton came in and did just that, better than 99.9 percent of us could have ever imagined.

Now, how could we really let the offense revert back to a so-so state after experienceing the potential of Newton? We almost had to shore up the offense, and that's exactly what the organization did, and now we'll have to deal with it. Likewise, Charles Johnson (along with Gamble) was about the only steadying aspect of a defense teetring at the precipice of diaster. We shored up that aspect of our defense by paying the man. Perhaps we overpaid a bit for his services, but at least he isn't in another NFC South team's colors. Again, deal with it. So we may have overpaid a bit with D-Will and CJ, but poo happens! We wisley picked up Greg Olsen and especially Mike Tolbert on the cheap, so things kind of cancel themselves out. And, after this season, Williams' contract will probably be restructured if he remains a Panther. If we had let J-Stew go, that would have been not only ill-advised, but just plain stupid.

Ron Rivera seems like a really smart guy who believes in accountability. We will get the defense together. It just looks like it's gonna take more time than we would have liked. In a perfect world, all the DTs and DEs we are trying to let develop will work out (at least one or two), but if not we will address the needs in the offseason. We have to be patient. Everyone had to know that there was the real possibility that the 2012 defense would not be that much better than the 2011 defense. But we haven't seen enough of a sampling to decide that the sum of all our fears is now reality. In retrospect, our defense started taking a dive when we let Peppers walk (and it didn't help that Kemo left). But that really wasn't Rivera's doing. It was a calculated decision by the FO, just as it was a calculated decision to go with what we have on defense to the betterment of special teams and the offense. This is not a surprise, so stop acting like it is. All we can do is hope for the best, and hope that some of the guys who have been on the sidelines---due to injury, or otherwise---will help us a win a few more games than last year. If we are really lucky, then perhaps we can get into the playoffs. But, by all means, leave the wholesale whining and crying until the beginning of the regular season...2013.

[jtnc]

Oh god, this again. Jesus christ, we heard the same thing last year.

[top dawg]

Oh god, this again. Jesus christ, we heard the same thing last year.

Not quite.

But the more things change, the more things stay the same. You know that. Don't act surprised.

[Panther4Ever]

k

[carolina-chuck]

I wanted to read it, but I just dont want to.

You had me at "Rome wasnt built in a day".

I heard this last year, the year before that and....its like I hear this every year

[Gin and Juice]

I wanted to read it, but I just dont want to.

You had me at "Rome wasnt built in a day".

I heard this last year, the year before that and....its like I hear this every year

And with each of the last two years we got better and better. And yes, still more to do

[Gallagher]

Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will a championship caliber team be built in a day (or a season).

If you think about it, this has been the first offseason that Ron Rivera has had with his feet on the ground. Last year he was still trying to organize with the rest of a young staff. Much like Jimmy Clausen, Rivera came into a fuged up situation. The team had been basically gutted of experienced veteran leadership on the defensive side of the ball, and was mired in offensive quicksand with Pickles and injuries to our most experienced and potent offensive weapons. But, the thing is is that offense was our strength, and the quickest way back to respectability, so we had to fill the gaping hole at QB. Newton came in and did just that, better than 99.9 percent of us could have ever imagined.

Now, how could we really let the offense revert back to a so-so state after experienceing the potential of Newton? We almost had to shore up the offense, and that's exactly what the organization did, and now we'll have to deal with it. Likewise, Charles Johnson (along with Gamble) was about the only steadying aspect of a defense teetring at the precipice of diaster. We shored up that aspect of our defense by paying the man. Perhaps we overpaid a bit for his services, but at least he isn't in another NFC South team's colors. Again, deal with it. So we may have overpaid a bit with D-Will and CJ, but poo happens! We wisley picked up Greg Olsen and especially Mike Tolbert on the cheap, so things kind of cancel themselves out. And, after this season, Williams' contract will probably be restructured if he remains a Panther. If we had let J-Stew go, that would have been not only ill-advised, but just plain stupid.

Ron Rivera seems like a really smart guy who believes in accountability. We will get the defense together. It jut looks like it's gonna take more time than we would have liked. In a perfect world, all the DTs and DEs we are trying to let develop will work out (at least one or two). but if not we will address the needs in the offseason. We have to be patient. Everyone had to know that there was the real possibility that the 2012 defense would not be that much better than the 2011 defense. But we haven't seen enough of a sampling to decide that the sum of all our fears is now reality. In retrospect, our defense started taking a dive when we let Peppers walk (and it didn't help that Kemo left). But that really wasn't Rivera's doing. It was a calculated decision by the FO, just as it was a calculated decision to go with what we have on defense to the betterment of special teams and the offense. This is not a surprise, so stop acting like it is. All we can do is hope for the best, and hope that some of the guys who have been on the sidelines---due to injury, or otherwise---will help us a win a few more games than last year. If we are really lucky, then perhaps we can get into the playoffs. But, by all means, leave the wholesale whining and crying until the beginning of the regular season...2013.

You make some good points, but could we please not compare Ron Rivera to Jimmy Clausen in any capacity. Ever.

[carolina-chuck]

And with each of the last two years we got better and better. And yes, still more to do

Yes, still more to do on the Defensive side

[Seal (SmittyIsOurSavior)]

I made this two games into the 2010 season, stating things like "for all we know, we could end up 14-2, with Jimmy as a future Hall of Famer."

We ended up winning a total of two games and having the worst offense in the league. BUT at least I was right about Jimmy. He's gonna end up in the Hall of Fame for allowing us to get the #1 overall and choose Cam.

[Kuech the Sneak]

The defense will be better, they'd have to try pretty hard to be worse than last year. The starting D only gave up 6 points with two takeaways and a pretty solid goal line stand, would like to see improvement against the run but it's hard to stop that zone game in Houston, Miami will be a good test for our run D

[Brooklyn Bully]

I love it when people write book-long posts like this.

Didn't reeeeeead.

[carolina-chuck]

The defense will be better, they'd have to try pretty hard to be worse than last year. The starting D only gave up 6 points with two takeaways and a pretty solid goal line stand, would like to see improvement against the run but it's hard to stop that zone game in Houston, Miami will be a good test for our run D

DT and Secondary will kill us

[Kuech the Sneak]

DT and Secondary will kill us

Ya lol most likely, but I'm not ready to throw them under the bus yet

[carolina-chuck]

Ya lol most likely, but I'm not ready to throw them under the bus yet

Haha better cross your fingers and start praying. We tends to say we're not ready to throw anyone off the bus every season. Then they dissapoint us.